WHEREAS, coastal land loss in Louisiana continues at the rate of about 30 square miles each year, representing 80% of the annual coastal land loss in the continental United States, and
WHEREAS, Louisiana’s coastal wetlands are a nursery habitat for most of the estuarine dependent fish in the Gulf of Mexico that support recreational and commercial fisheries worth $billions to the state’s economy, and provide protection to the infrastructure of coastal Louisiana, including roads, navigation channels, flood protection levees, oil and gas facilities and pipelines, waterlines and port facilities from tropical storms, and
WHEREAS, the state has invested over $70 million in coastal restoration efforts since the late 1970s and the Federal Government has invested $millions more through the Breaux Act (CWPPRA), and
WHEREAS, the State’s commitment to coastal restoration has increased with the adoption of Act 919 of the 1999 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature which adjusted the formula for accruing state mineral revenue to the Coastal Restoration Trust Fund so that there would be enough money to match Breaux Act restoration funds, and
WHEREAS, the State’s strategic coastal restoration plan, Coast 2050 estimates a $14 billion price tag for halting coastal land loss and recovering a substantial portion of what has been lost to erosion and subsidence, and
WHEREAS, the Conservation and Reinvestment Act (CARA) now being considered by the U. S.
Congress proposes to provide hundreds of millions of dollars more to combat coastal land loss in Louisiana but the funding is conditioned on the State not diminishing its financial and policy commitment to coastal restoration, and
WHEREAS, along with the commitment to the State Master Conservation and Recreation Plan for the Atchafalaya Basin, the development of the Coast 2050 Plan and strong support for coastal restoration is a hallmark of conservation leadership for the Foster Administration and the
Louisiana Legislature and demonstrates an astute understanding of natural resource conservation priorities, and
WHEREAS, even with the difficult fiscal situation currently facing the State, it is vital that the State continue its commitment to coastal restoration.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Louisiana Wildlife Federation urges the Louisiana Legislature to maintain the funding for the State’s Coastal Restoration Program at the authorized levels.
Adopted by the Louisiana Wildlife Federation in convention assembled, March 12, 2000 in Alexandria, Louisiana.